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Jury: Missouri surgeon, fiancee submitted 228 fake claims

ST. LOUIS (AP) — Jurors have found that a Missouri doctor, his fiancée and their companies conspired to submit 228 false claims to Medicare and Medicaid.

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports that the jurors also found Thursday that the government programs should be repaid $1.6 million, although the final award will be determined later.

The U.S. Attorney's office claimed in a civil whistleblower suit that Dr. Sonjay Fonn, of Cape Girardeau neurosurgeon, performed spinal fusion operations using spinal implants distributed by a company owned by his fiancée, Deborah Seeger.

Federal prosecutors say Seeger's company, DS Medical, received inflated commissions when Fonn used certain implants. They say that Fonn benefited from a yacht, home improvements and other purchases.